Antigua and Barbuda work permit

Division F of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Code bars non-citizens from employment or self-employment without a work permit. "Employment" is read widely: it covers taking a job, practising a profession, carrying on a trade or business and any occupation, whether or not it is paid. The division does not apply to citizens and government employees, accredited diplomats and their families and staff, employees of the United Nations and its agencies, people in executive posts with regional bodies such as CARICOM, the ECCB, the CDB and the OECS, and classes exempted by ministerial order.

The Labour Department's form, replaced by the Labour Code (Amendment) Act 2019, asks for the applicant's identity, passport details, medical benefits and social security numbers, addresses over the past two years, any relationship to a citizen, arrival date, the proposed employer, occupation over the past two years, qualifications, how the job was found, the period requested, accompanying family members and any past deportation or refusal of entry. The employer's schedule asks for the business registration, staff numbers split between citizens and non-nationals, local and overseas advertisements with a copy attached, whether the vacancy was listed with the Labour Department, training for citizens, a detailed job description and, on renewal, whether statutory contributions are owed.

The application, or its renewal or extension, is filed with the Employment Service of the Labour Department by or for the applicant. Unless the applicant is self-employed, it is accompanied by the employer's statement. The Chief of the Employment Service investigates and recommends, taking into account the effect on job opportunities for citizens, and may propose conditions such as assigning a citizen as counterpart-trainee with periodic progress reports. The minister decides whether to grant the permit and on what terms; the permit is valid only once the prescribed fees are paid.

A work permit holder remains a bona fide visitor with conditional permission to work; it is not residence. The passport is the identification checked by Labour Department officers at workplaces, so the holder must still go to the Immigration Department to have the permit endorsed in the passport. A work permit does not automatically bring an extension of stay, because the two are granted by different departments under different laws, although work permit holders do not need a sponsor to extend and must hold a return ticket. Spouses and children ordinarily have no right of residence through the holder; some categories may bring family after approval by the Chief Immigration Officer.

A permit runs for the period the minister allows, never more than one year, and may be renewed on a fresh application. Working without a permit or breaking its conditions is an offence punishable on summary conviction by a fine of EC$1,500 or six months' imprisonment, and the permit is cancelled; employers who hire without a permit face the same penalty. False statements on the form carry a fine of EC$750 or three months' imprisonment.